Nagisa's Dango Day
by ferren61
Summary: Just another day at Furukawa Bakery, but Nagisa and Akio find a stash of the stuff they like best. I watched Clannad many years ago and Nagisa is still one of my favourite "Anime girls". I wrote this many years ago and have only just found it now, so it is really a long forgotten discovery for me. I do not own the rights to Clannad or any of the characters portrayed in my work.


Winter was coming to the city, the sun was setting earlier and the temperature was steadily creeping downwards. At the premises of Furukawa Bread the day started very early as Akio rose early to prepare the dough for baking and stared warming the ovens. Up the flight of stairs Sanae busied herself with her morning chores while in a small room off the passage Nagisa lay curled up on her Futon.

Nagisa had just woken up, but she was still tired, her body felt weak and she really did not feel like doing anything except sleep a little late and try to shake the tiredness that enveloped her as the weather grew colder. She could hear her father and mother talking downstairs and smiled inwardly when she remembered how much she loved them. The talking stopped and she heard Sanae come upstairs once again. She knocked softly on the door frame and called to her daughter. "Nagisa? are you awake?"

"Yes mum, I am coming down now."

Sanae knew her daughter was approaching the season that they all dreaded. As Nagisa got older so each winter became harder for her to get through. She had struggled to complete her previous school year, having to stay off for long periods when she was unable to attend school. Fortunately the school authorities had been understanding, but with Nagisa now in high school things were just that little bit harder.

In her room Nagisa decided she would try her best once again. "Sweet bean bread" she whispered to herself. Her favourite foods always gave her strength and she was able to pull her favourite wrap around her and open the door for her mother.

Sanae embraced her, "Nagisa? if you don't feel well you should rest a bit more."

"I am feeling better thanks mum, I am sure I will be able to help out at the shop today like I promised."

Sanae tried to smooth the 2 stray hairs that always stuck out in the middle of all the Furukawa households hair, "If you feel tired you must please say so Nagisa. You father doesn't want to see you overexert yourself."

Downstairs Akio was busy loading the ovens with trays full of bread dough. One contained Sanae's latest experiment; "sardine and melon bread". He heard mother and daughter talking upstairs and paused to wipe his forehead with the sweat rag he kept close by. As usual his head was full of baseball, but his heart always stayed with the mother and daughter whom he adored.

He heard Sanae come downstairs and stuck his head around the corner of shop into the area that the family used to gather in for breakfast. "How is she today?"

Sanae smiled "She is trying her best, she says she feels well, but I can see she is tired."

"We must keep her busy today, but not so that she gets tired."

Nagisa washed and dressed and went downstairs, donning an apron in preparation for breakfast. She bustled into the kitchen and took out chopsticks and bowls as well as some freshly baked melon bread that her father always prepared immediately after he rose early in the morning. she stacked them on the table before going through into the baking area to greet her father.

"Ahayo" She said pleasantly.

Akio looked down at the slim figure and squinted at her "You are too clean to be the daughter of a baker. Are you sure that you actually live here?"

"Aw dad, you know that I will be dirty as soon as we finish breakfast."

He reached across and smeared a line of flour down her nose. "Now you look like a bakers daughter."

She giggled and rubbed her nose with the sleeve of her blouse, then reached across and kissed him on the cheek, "bakersman bake me a cake..." she sang softly.

"Shoo! daughter of a baker, go help your mother. I am almost done here and we can get this shop open. Furukawa Bread never leaves its customers breadless!"

Once Akio had made sure the ovens were loaded he sat down for his morning cup of tea and breakfast with his family. He was secretly pleased that school was closed because he was able to watch his daughter as she chatted to her mother. He still felt a chill when he remembered holding her cold body in his arms on that winters night so many years ago. He was grateful for the life that was granted her, but he always feared loosing her once again to this illness that plagued her every winter. He had been scanning the newspapers recently, looking for a business that he could buy where winter was not so harsh, and where his daughter could have an easier life. So far he had had no luck. He also felt that Nagisa had a connection to the city now that he could not break, but his heart wanted him to do as much as he could for her.

Breakfast over, Nagisa tidied up while Sanae did the rounds of the shop, making sure everything was clean and shipshape for the days rush of customers. Akio raised the heavy shutter that protected the shop window and grabbing his broom took a few baseball slices with it, almost decapitating a passing pedestrian.

He paused to read the notices stuck up at the noticeboard by the park where he played baseball. Usually nothing caught his eye, but today a new one made him stop.

"Movie and theatrical props and memorabilia for sale."

Akio had once had dreams of being in theatre, but his acting career had been cut short by Nagisa's near death experience. Often he wondered how his life would have been had he never met Sanae and gone on stage permanently. But each time he would turn to his wife and see her smile or watch his daughter as she went about her day and he realised that this was so much better.

"Akio," Sanae called from inside the shop, "The bread is almost ready."

The morning rush hour at Furukawa Bread kept Nagisa and Sanae busy as they served customers and tried to keep ahead of demand. Akio was busy baking the next batch of bread and while all of this was going on Nagisa struggled to keep up, Sanae made sure that at no time was her daughter overwhelmed, and that she was able to rest as much as she could. As the next batch of bread was ready the customer load started to drop and the family members were able to have a quick glass of juice and rest their feet. Akio looked at the tray of Sanae's experimental bread and shook his head. "Not even good enough for a bunch of hungry fisherman".

Behind him Sanae burst into tears "So my bread is not good enough for a bunch of hungry fisherman?" She ran from the shop, hotly pursued by Akio who was stuffing sardine and melon bread into his mouth "But I loooove your bread…."

Nagisa laughed out loud. This happened at least 3 times a week and never ceased to amuse her. Now that she was on school break she was able to appreciate it once again. She tentatively took one of Sanae's breads and gingerly took a bite, it was not a good combination.

Fortunately while her parents were on their morning dash around the neighbourhood the shop was empty and she straightened up the wares and wiped down the surfaces. Nagisa got a lot of satisfaction out of working in the shop, it soothed her and provided a safe way for somebody that was very shy and withdrawn to interact with people. She didn't have many friends at school and was very lonely, but it didn't stop her from enjoying the family that she had. She wished that she could find a nice girl to be friends with, but her erratic school attendance usually left her without classmates that she could get attached to.

Akio and Sanae came breathlessly into the shop, both were exhausted, but the flush on her mothers face was not only from the physical exertion but also the sheer exuberance of her morning with her husband. "I must get ready for the cram school children. Nagisa, can you please help your father to set up for this afternoon?"

Akio watched his wife disappear upstairs and turned to Nagisa. "Your mother is getting faster all the time."

Nagisa laughed, "Or maybe you are getting slower dad."

"Me? The greatest baseball player this shopping district has ever seen? HA! Just you wait till we have another match against the other district, then you will see how slow I am!"

The grudge match that was held between the shopping districts was a much awaited event and her father was always boasting about his baseball prowess, but was never able to get a good enough team together to beat the opposition. She was always roped into the activity but was not aggressive or strong enough to do anything but get struck out. Secretly she dreaded the baseball match because she always thought she let her father down.

By midday Akio had finished the morning bread baking and the shop closed for lunchtime. At the table Akio told Nagisa about the sign he had seen. "It is not too far away Nagisa, we can go there when things quieten down."

Nagisa loved the theatre and was very happy to hear about the sale of memorabilia, she mentally calculated how much money she had in her savings, and hoped there was something worthwhile to purchase. "Will mum be able to manage the shop and the cram school?"

"Yes, I asked her about it and she says she will cover for us for an hour. If we rush we will be able to be back before she has to continue classes."

Sanae used to be a teacher and now gave extra lessons to children from the neighbourhood, she had a knack for it that made her a very popular choice for any parent looking to expand their children's education. Her next class usually started an hour after lunch time and that break was enough for father and daughter to go look at the sale.

The shop was an old one with a big "For Sale" sign on it. Faded shop fittings cluttered the windows and a large fly half heartedly buzzed its way around the stock. The odour of dust filled the room, and there was an all pervasive feeling of decay. The dingy surroundings were unpleasant and Akio and Nagisa were very disappointed by what they saw. An old man sat at the counter reading an equally old yellowed newspaper, occasionally looking up to check on the progress of the pair. "Not much here Nagisa, let's go."

As Nagisa turned she gave a little squeal of joy and dived into a box. "Looooook…" she called from inside the depths of the box. Clouds of dust rose and Akio was tempted to grab her ankle before she ended up lost forever inside the musty depths. She emerged triumphantly clutching her treasure.

She turned, closed her eyes and hugged the object and started dreamily singing to an audience inside of herself…

"Dango dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku…"

Nagisa had a fixation with the big dango family and would solemnly sing her favourite dango song oblivious to anybody else. The old man that owned the store watched the shy girl as she sang, "I never thought I would see something like this in my lifetime." He shuffled up to Akio, "does she always do that?"

"Nagisa has always wanted a dango plush, but we have never been able to find her one. This is the first I have ever seen."

Her song over she hugged the faded plush, small puffs of dust erupting from its pale green surface each time she squeezed it. "How much is this please?"

The old man looked solemnly at her "It is very expensive…"

Her face fell.

"And, if you buy this dango all the other dango I have here will be lonely and then I will be unhappy."

"You have more?"

"Oh yes", he shuffled over to another box and pulled out a plastic bag. "Look here."

The bag was filled with smaller dango in multiple colours.

Akio was sure the whole district heard her eruption of joy.

"Oh please, how much for all these dango?"

"Hmm, let me ask you this: are you a good girl?"

Nagisa blushed "I always try to be."

Akio peered at the old man, "Of course she is, I am her father and she is a very good girl, although her batting and pitching needs work."

"Then I will make you a deal. You can have all of these dango for 10 Yen if you can persuade your father to help me move some of the boxes in the back into the shop".

"Dad? Will you please help to move those boxes?"

"Not so fast Nagisa, what is in the boxes?"

"Nothing much, a lot of baseball memorabilia."

Sanae peered into the distance, looking for her husband and daughter but all she saw was a very dusty figure in a dress carrying a huge bag that obscured her face. "Nagisa?"

Nagisa put the bag down on the pavement and beamed at her mother. "Dad is going to be a bit late, he is helping a nice old man to move some boxes."

"But Nagisa, what is in the bag?"

Nagisa bent over and took the biggest dango out of the bag "Dango dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku..."

"The big dango family. We have been looking for those for years for you."

"Oh yes, there are all sorts of dango in here, naughty fried dango, the kind red bean dango, the mid-autumn festival dango, the prim sesame dango…"

"But Nagisa, look how dirty you are."

"I know mum, but the shop was very dusty, and I can always change my clothes."

"I think you should do that now because class is starting very soon and I need you to tend the shop. Your father is going to be even dirtier when he gets back. And I promise I will help you wash all the Dango tomorrow."

"Thanks Mum, I will be as quick as I can, but when dad gets back I think we may have to hose him down, he found lots and lots of baseball stuff that he was raving about when I left to come home."

Nagisa bounded up the stairs, more spirited now than she had been in a long time. Sanae looked at the heap of plush toys on the pavement and sighed. It was very evident that they would all be hearing the Dango song for quite some time. She just hoped she could stand it.


End file.
